Algonquin principal concerned about 'uptick' in pot use

Algonquin Regional High School Principal Tom Mead said Wednesday that the school has seen “an uptick” in marijuana use among students, which led to a drug search last week.

Five police dogs, along with handlers and school administrators, swept through the school last Thursday, searching lockers and school grounds while students were in class. The 16-minute search, which was announced beforehand, turned up nothing.

“We were not really expecting to find anything on this search because it was so broadly publicized and talked about,” Mr. Mead said. “But we wanted to do that first because the interest here is to get the drugs off campus.”

Mr. Mead said there was no specific incident that prompted the search, but that school administrators and police agree that drug use at Algonquin is becoming a concern.

“It's more of a growing problem,” he said. “We were very interested in any kind of ideas in terms of letting the kids know that drugs are not tolerated.”

Mr. Mead said future searches, including one later this spring, will not be announced.

School Committee Member Daniel Kolenda praised school administrators and police from both Northboro and Southboro for their efforts.

“The destructive nature of drugs and alcohol has been witnessed too many times in our society and there is no place for them in our school,” he said. “Great work by you and your administration in making sure that this is a wonderful place of learning for all our students.”